Honor in BGs, a brief note

[I think this post is in error. I’m leaving it as a personal standard – correct, don’t pretend it was never there. Followup studies in progress.]

Admittedly, I’m rehashing stuff from the official FAQ. Feel free to read it, though I’m simplify.
Folks, the Big Reward from all the battlegrounds is Honor. Honor, plus a few tokens or coins, will let you buy Neat Stuff. I’d been told lots of things about earning honor – as recently as last night – that Are Not So. I’d like to take just a few moments of your time…

I cannot count the number of times that I’ve screamed “Cap the frigging flag” in WSG. After all, the Points come from the win, right? You get more from winning and running again, right?

Ummmm…. maybe.

A win in WSG will get everybody on the winning side 140 points. The most the losing side can get is 80 points – each capped flag is 40 points.

Each honorable kill, on the other hand… depends. Each HK is worth a certain number of points. The points are shared among all party/raid members “in range”. Just like XP, they’re adjusted based on everyone’s level – both within the party, and in relation to the killed target. Just like XP, the actual contribution doesn’t matter. Two more factors apply. First, at least till patch 2.4, they degrade. That is, the more often the other guy is killed, the less he’s worth. Second, there’s a way for people out-of-range to get points as well. All they have to do is “touch” (do a bit of damage to) the opponent less than a minute before he dies. In other words, flagroom defenders slap a quick damage spell on the flag carrier, flag carrier runs out and is killed on the valley floor about 30 seconds later, and the defenders get a share in the points as well.

So getting the exact number is difficult. That said, I offer a ballpark. Using ALL level 70s (both sides, all players), I’m going to swag that the other guys start around 30 points apiece, and decline by about 3 points per kill. Yep, it’s a ballpark. What it MEANS is…

In WSG, there is a POTENTIAL for 3,000 honor points to be distributed among the players.

Even if you share them with every single player, that’s 300 points available. Even if – as is more than realistic – you can’t squeeze every single point…

100 HKs available. 50 for “half”. 1500 points (notional), 150 if shared between EVERYBODY. And in return, what can you get for winning WSG?

140 points.

For everyone but the guy carrying the flag (and his/her defenders) hiding and farming honor kills is BRILLIANT. For the flag team?

Remember, you have to be in range. Out of range, no share. Or more precisely, the kill team gets your share of the points.

So here’s the real deal. If you’re in WSG and the flag carrier hides, go farm honor. He is an idiot, but you come out ahead. If you’re the flag carrier, cap the flag — you’ll get more points over time.

Oh – healer? I have a personal recommendation – a “How I Play.” I’m escorting the flag carrier and he decides to hide – even though he could cap. I have a simple line. “You know you only get HKs if they’re near you, right? So cap the flag, or I’m leaving and going where I can earn honor.” And if he continues to hide – I leave.

Hey, I’m a heal-priest, I get my points from assisting someone else earn points better. If they’re not going to earn…

Note, please, that my estimate of points is an ESTIMATE. It’s based on my limited experience as a BG70. I tried very hard to track my HKs and points, and that’s the swag I’ve got. If someone else has better numbers, use them. That said, the principle – flag or HKs – is solid.

About…

I've experience with many priests of many races and specs on several servers. The more I play, the more I realize how much I do not yet know. This is a share of some of what I have learned.
My main these days is Zingiber on the Undermine server.